Podcast: Case Studies to Build Trust and Sales
How do you make the most of a customer’s success story? What if you can’t name a customer? How do new FTC rules affect case studies?
Get answers to these questions and others on a 25-minute podcast where RainToday.com interviewed Casey Hibbard, "Using Case Studies to Build Trust and Facilitate Sales."
- Ways to use your customer case studies
- How many and how often to create case studies
- What makes a successful case study
- What if you can’t name customers?
- Examples of professional services firms using case studies successfully
- Why you shouldn’t make people register to access cases
- How to ease customer permissions and approvals
- What the new FTC rules mean for endorsements
Listen here. It’s only available to non-members of RainToday.com until Feb. 24.
Customer Stories…Make a Tractor Interesting?
Most of us – for better or worse – have had a fast-food hamburger. It usually arrives in paper, often drippy and with an already soggy bun. The burger gets the job done, but not memorably.
Compare that to eating the hamburger at an upscale restaurant. The menu talks about "grass-fed" beef, "artisanal" bread and maybe a house-made aioli mayonnaise. Then, someone slides it gingerly in front of you on a modern square plate with toppings on the side that look fresh from the farmer’s market.
They’re completely different experiences – and all in the presentation.
Customer case studies and success stories are just as subject to packaging and presentation. You can lay out just the facts, or you can tell a STORY.
Volvo Construction Equipment gets it. They know they’re not just selling construction equipment. In the story below, they’re selling better, cheaper road maintenance.
The packaging: an intriguing, well-written customer success story. Volvo tells the tale of a rural Alabama county’s plight after receiving 12 inches of rain in a single day.
What does Volvo do right?
Feature-story format – The tale takes the form of an engaging feature story like you’d see in a magazine. It doesn’t go traditional by blocking text into Challenge-Solution-Results sections.
Strong writing – The writing is specific and sets the scene about the toll of the heavy rain.
Authentic quotes – The quotes sound genuinely spoken by the guys in the field using the equipment, which adds authenticity with the audience.
Clear results – Volvo highlights measurable and anecdotal results.
If Volvo can make a tractor sound interesting, then there’s hope for whatever your product or service is.
Whatever you’re selling, you can wrap your customer’s story in cheap paper or present it elegantly.
Writers: How to Referee Style Rules
During the NFL playoffs, referees’ calls can ultimately decide a win or loss.
Their job is to know the rules and make sure that players follow them. But sometimes their calls inspire boos from the coaches, players and fans.
Freelance copwriters are not unlike referees.
On a project, writers are often in the role of referee – enforcing STYLE rules.
Depending on the types of projects you work on, anywhere from two to maybe 8 people may be reviewing your thoughtfully written copy.
There’s at least one marketing manager, if not more, and perhaps a PR or sales person. Then there’s maybe a product manager.
If you work on customer case studies, an additional three to four people at the customer’s organization may review your story.
Chances are, there will be differences of opinion about whether "website" is one word or two, whether titles should be capitalized or whether a comma goes before the last "and."
To solve these differences – and maintain consistency across all communications – you need a set of rules.
And if you’re the writer, be the editorial style referee.
But how do you do so diplomatically?
Throw the book at ‘em
Newspapers and magazines have long followed style guidelines, whether Associated Press style, Chicago Manual of Style or their own versions. Companies need such guidelines as well for all their communications.
Freelance writers should usually follow the style of the companies they write for, unless those companies have no specific style guidelines.
If the organization doesn’t have its own editorial guidelines, bring your own style. When you send first drafts to your contacts, let them know that you follow style X.
When questions come up during the editing process, simply refer to the specific style guidelines as your reasoning for doing something like leaving out that extra comma before the last "and" in a sentence.
Company-created style
Several companies I’ve written for over the years have had their own style guidelines. They set down in writing exactly how they want certain aspects of their copy to go.
In many cases, their style is a hyrbrid. They mostly follow a standard style guide but have modifications for their communications.
Learn and follow those guidelines closely.
Earn your stripes
As you merge edits from multiple reviewers, make sure that the copy follows the established style. If someone makes changes that conflict with those rules, just let them know you follow company style.
It’s like saying, these are the rules we play by on our turf.
It can be hard to be a ref, but it’s part of the writer’s job.
Have you ever been boo-ed for refereeing edits?
5 Hottest Ways to Use Customer Stories in ‘10
Ever walked through the living room when someone else is watching TV (on your way somewhere else), and just had to stop right there and watch?
I’d be willing to bet it was a compelling story that drew you in (if it wasn’t some sultry hamburger ad).
Humans have always told stories and it’s still the best currency for communication.
If anything, we rely on stories more than ever to be seen or heard in a sea of messages.
What’s changed are the media we use.
So what’s hot now in sharing customer success stories and case studies?
Here are my 5 predictions for the hottest ways to use your stories in ‘10. Drop a comment on your top ways.
1. Blogs
An estimated 77% of active web users read blogs. They’ve proven to be powerful drivers of search engine traffic.
Even better, those following your blog are interested in your particular topic, giving you the perfect target audience.
Share your best customer stories on your blog – either in full or linked back to the full story on your website.
Focus on the customer’s experience and path to success, not just tooting your own horn.
And finally, be sure to get the customer’s permission before you publish anything with their name on it.
2. Twitter
Enticing Twitter content gets fresh eyeballs on your blog or website. A decent percentage of my own web traffic comes from Twitter.
Customer stories are among the more interesting pieces of content you can share.
Mention a compelling customer story and link back to it on your blog or website.
Several of my clients regularly Tweet their customer stories, proving to be a source of new traffic to their sites.
Be sure to give it a compelling headline, and keep the Tweet short to encourage Retweeting.
Remember to follow what has become Twitter protocol of sharing more helpful links/Tweets than self-promotional ones.
3. Video
Video continues its hot streak.
Consider capturing short versions of your customer success stories and comments on video, or use video technology that allows viewers to navigate to chapter marks.
Some surveys indicate two-thirds still prefer written stories, but if possible, have multiple ways that your audience can consume your stories.
Then post the videos on your website, blog, YouTube (the third largest search engine) and other sites like Viddler.
Check out more video tips here.
4. Sales Conversations
Sure, you may have your video and written stories nicely displayed everywhere.
But you don’t really know whether those powerful stories have reached the right prospects.
Make sure those hot prospects know your best customer successes. Encourage sales reps to tell them in sales conversations.
To that end, communicate clearly and often to reps where your customer case studies and success stories reside on your website or intranet.
Discuss those stories in sales meetings.
Do everything you can to ensure that when a rep talks with a prospect, she knows just the perfect story to mention in conversation.
5. Awards
I’m big on awards these days – after seeing some Fortune 500 companies jump at the chance to tell their stories for awards opportunities.
Why? We all like to be recognized for our efforts. Your customers are no different.
If they’re doing cool, best practices things, and your solution helps with that, find relevant awards programs and ask their permission to submit them.
You might be surprised how on board they get for an awards submission when they might not publish their story as a case study.
If your customer wins, their story gets natural publicity through the awards process.
Also, once you have all the juicy details, ask if you can make that public on your website.
What are your predictions for the hottest ways to use customer case studies and success stories right now?
Are You Missing this Critical Case Study Step?
Customer case studies and success stories change hands – a LOT.
On average, 3-4 different people review a story before it’s finalized. At times, it can be twice that many.
Each review is an another opportunity for errors and typos to creep in.
Don’t expect reviewers to find these errors. Most are not proofing for perfection, but rather for content.
Whether you’re a writer or manager of the project, make sure every story gets a final proofing.
Pick a proofer
Ideally, select someone who hasn’t seen the document all along, just to do the proofing.
If not, then the writer usually assumes this role.
Build it into the process
Team members can be eager to get an approved case study out for use.
But make it mandatory that the case study goes through this final proofing phase before it goes out for public consumption.
Read carefully
Especially if you wrote the story, read it carefully.
Maybe even print it out so your eyes see it differently. You’ll catch things you wouldn’t see on the screen.
Beware errors in design
If the story is going into a design template, proof it again after it’s in that format.
A perfect Word doc can end up with words missing in the layout process.
Being detail-oriented pays off. You don’t want prospects to find an ugly typo in your hard-earned case study.
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Companion ebooks to Stories that Sell!
Get the most out of Stories that Sell with The Marketer's Toolkit AND The Writer's Toolkit. These additional resources provide proven tips to help you succeed with success stories.
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